Before you start
If your dry grapes are seeded, remove the seeds first. Slit each one and press the seed out. Quantities below are adapted from published home recipes, and they can be scaled up or down.
Rice kheer
You need 1 litre full-fat milk, a quarter cup basmati rice, a quarter cup sugar, 1 tsp ghee, half tsp cardamom powder, a few saffron strands, 8 each of sliced almonds and cashews, 6 pistachios and 1 tbsp raisins.
- Wash the rice and soak it for 20 minutes. Drain.
- Heat the ghee and lightly fry the cashews and raisins until golden. Set aside.
- Boil the milk in a heavy pan, then simmer. Add the rice and cook 25 to 30 minutes on low heat, stirring often, until soft and thick.
- Add the sugar, cardamom and saffron. Stir in the fried nuts and raisins. Serve warm or chilled.
- For a payasam style, swap in about a third cup of jaggery for the sugar.
Kaju kishmish pulao
This is a mildly sweet Bengali style pulao for 4. Use 200 g gobindobhog rice, 50 g broken cashews, 50 g raisins, 2 green chillies, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 50 g ghee, 50 g sugar, 2 tsp salt and whole spices: cinnamon, cloves, green and black cardamom and bay leaves.
- Soak the washed rice for 15 minutes and drain.
- Mix the rice with the whole spices, two thirds of the ghee, 1 tsp salt, cashews, raisins and ginger. Rest 15 minutes.
- Heat the rest of the ghee and stir-fry the rice for 5 minutes until shiny and the nuts and raisins are golden.
- Add sugar and green chillies, then 2 cups boiling water. Boil, cover and cook on medium heat, then rest at least 5 minutes before serving.
Besan laddu
You need 200 g besan, 125 g ghee, 175 g powdered sugar, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1 to 2 tbsp chopped raisins and 10 to 12 chopped cashews.
- Dry roast the besan on low to medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring all the time.
- Add the ghee and roast 12 to 15 minutes more until it smells nutty and the ghee floats on top.
- Take the pan off the heat. Mix in the powdered sugar, cardamom, raisins and cashews.
- Cool a little, then shape into balls. Store in an airtight steel box in cool, dry conditions.
Poha chivda
Use 2 cups thin poha, a third cup each of peanuts, roasted chana dal and cashews, 2 tbsp raisins and a third cup oil. For the tempering take curry leaves, 2 chopped green chillies, a quarter tsp turmeric, a pinch of hing, 2 tsp powdered sugar and salt.
- Roast the poha 3 to 4 minutes on low heat until crisp.
- Fry the nuts and dal separately in oil, then fry the raisins until they swell and turn plump.
- Temper with curry leaves, chillies and hing. Add turmeric, salt and sugar.
- Mix everything gently, roast 4 to 5 minutes, cool fully and store airtight. It keeps about a week at room temperature.
Using them soaked
For cakes, breads and fillings, plump the fruit first. Cover with hot water for 10 to 15 minutes and drain. Or soak in room-temperature water for 30 minutes.
Longer is not better, since the fruit only plumps so much. Water is the usual liquid. Juice or spirits are also used, and the leftover liquid can go into the recipe.
Frequently asked questions
When should I add dry grapes to kheer?
Fry them lightly in ghee and stir them in at the end, after the milk has thickened.
Do I need to soak dry grapes for laddu or chivda?
No. In the recipes above they are added dry, chopped for laddu or fried until plump for chivda.
Can I use seeded dry grapes in these recipes?
Yes, after removing the seeds.